Folding table



'April 2l, 1942. E, F, KNO LES 2,280,412 FOLDING TABLE Filed D60. 4, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 A rro ewe) April 21, 1942. F, uowLgs 2,280,412

FOLDING TABLE Fild D86; 4, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet, 2

w'4' 41 22 on I 7/ V W 1T5]: 2f I l v Mun! Jf if J6 I l K I I //22 [NI/EH70 eowwrrrwomss April 21, 1942- E. F. KNOWLES 2,280,412

FOLDING TABLE MIL 6N T01? EDWIN I". KN E A 7 TORI/H I corner brackets or leg journals;

Patented Apr. 21, 1942 2,280,412 FOLDING TABLE I U Edwin F. Knowles, Phoenix, Ariz. Application December 4, 1939, Serial No. 307,501 4 Claims. (01. sir-s2) This invention relates" to a self- -closing, or self-opening folding table, and has for one of its objects the production of a simple and efficient means for simultaneously moving all of thelegs of the table to'or: form an open position: i

A further object of this invention is the production of a simple and eflicient latching means for holding the legs either in an open or a retracted: position.

1 Other objects and advantagesof this invention will appear throughout the following specification and claims. 1 s I In the drawings? Figure 1 is a top plan view pf the table with the legs in an extended position, a portion of the table top being broken away;

Figure 2 is a similar view with the legs in a retractedposition; j s

Figure 3 is a side'elevation'al view of the table with the legs in an extended position, certain parts being broken away; r

Figure 4 is a bottom plan view of the table with the legs in aretracted position;

Figure 5 is a similar view to Figure 4 with the Y legs in an extended position;v 1

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on line 6-6 ofFigure 4;

Figure 7 is a horizontal sectional View taken on lined-1 of Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a sectional view taken on line lip-8 of Figure 7;

Figure 9 isa sectional view taken online 9-9 of Figure'Z; t

Figure 10 is a sectional view taken on line .lll-lll of Figure 7;

shown in sectional perspective;

k Flgure 12 ls sectlonallvlew ta an on me the replacing of the legs when desired. Each FigurelB is a top plan view of one corner of the table, showing the structure of the corner bracket or leg journal;

Figure 14 is a vertical sectional View taken on line [4-H ofFigure 13;

Figure 15 is a sectional view taken on line 15-45 of Figure lg Figure'lfi is aperspective view of one of the Figure 17 is a sectional view takenon line ll- -TI of Figure 2; j

. Figure 18 is a sectional view taken on line Iii-48 of Figure 5;, H 1

bracket 25.

. other.

Figure 19 is aa vertical sectionalview taken 1 on line I9\-|9 of Figure 15;

Figure 20 is a horizontal sectional view of a modified type of. corner bracket and link conmotion between the leg operating means;

Figure 21 is a sectional perspective View through the actuating ringand illustrating the roller-carrying plate. 1

By referring to'the drawings, it will be seen that 2| designates the top of the table which will be referred to as a body, in View of the fact that the element 2| may constitute a table top, chair seat, or other structure which is adapted to be supported by legs 22. The body 2| carries side rails23 which depend from the edges of the body. 21 asis shown,the top edge of the rails 23 having ledge portions .24 upon which the top 1 2| rests.

Corner brackets or leg journals 25, preferably formed of sheet metal, are placed within the inner corners of the body 2|. These corner brackets are provided with upper'flanges 26 which overlie the ledge portions 24 of the rails v reinforcing flanges 29, as shown in Figure 16. A

central transversely extending partition 30 is interposed between the flange 28 and the opposite side of the bracket 25, as shown in Figure 16. Ifhis partition 3!! is cut away, as indicated at 3|, to permit the legs 22 to freely rotate about the leg supporting spindle 32 carried by each Each spindle 32 is engaged by a journal portion 33 of a leg socket 34, a similar leg socket ,34 engaging each of the legs. The legs 22 are preferably held'within the sockets 34 by suitable wing nuts and bolts 35 to facilitate and the journal plate 31'.

A leg actuating ring 38 is carried by the guiding frames 39 which. are secured to the inner faces of the side rails 23; one guiding frame 39 being secured to the inner face of each side rail,

the oppositeframes being preferably arranged in directly opposite relation with respect to each These frames are preferably mounted nearer the upper edges of theside rails in order to provide ample space to permit the legs 22 to fold within the rails 23. Each of these frames comprises a substantially U-shaped metallic channel structure within which rollers 48 are mounted, these rollers 40 being carried by the supporting plates 4| which are anchored to the outer edges of the actuating ring 38, as shown in detail in Figure 17. The rollers 48 will constitute an eflicient support for the edges of the actuating ring 38 within the guiding frames 39 and the rollers may preferably be formed coneshape, although any suitable or desired shape of roller may be employed. The supporting plates 4| are U-shaped in cross section and straddle the outer edge of the actuating ring 38 as shown in Figure 17. A roller 4| is carried by each plate 4| and abuts the edge of one of the flanges of the frames 39 and 39 to eliminate friction or binding and to facilitate the rotation of the actuating ring 38.

One guiding frame is indicated by 39 to designate it from the other frames 39, and is provided with an inwardly projecting tongue 42 which is spaced from and overlies the actuating ring 38. A tension coil spring 43 is anchored at one end to this tongue 42 and passes around pulleys 44 carried by the upper face of the actuating ring 38 and this spring 43 is anchored at its opposite end to the anchoring clip 45 secured to the upper face of the actuating ring 38. This spring 43 is adapted to move the legs 22 from a closed to an open position when the latch 49 described in the following, is disengaged from the keeper 4! also further described in the following. The actuating ring 38 is preferably provided with an inner annular flange 38' to provide a channel within which the coil spring 43 may freely operate and within which the pulleys 44 may lie. An areshaped flange 46 is provided along one'portion of the outer edge of the actuating ring 38, as shown in Figure '7, and carries a pair of spaced keepers 41 and 48.

An anchoring latch 49 formed of spring metal is carried by a bracket 50 secured to the inner face of one of the side rails 23 and this anchoring latch 49 comprises a spring tongue the outer end of which is adapted to selectively engage one of thekeepers 41 or 48. A releasing trigger is pivotally secured to the inner face of one of the side rails 23 and is provided with a handle portion 52 extending through a slot 53 formed in one of the side rails 23. This trigger is provided with an extending shank having an angularly bent end portion for lifting the latch 49 out of engagement with the keepers as the trigger 5| is swung. The spring nature of the latch 49 will cause the latch to normally engage the respective keepers as they are brought into position for such engagement. The operation of this structure should be obvious by noting Figures 11 and 12 of the drawings.

To facilitate the operation of the latch 49, I preferably provide triggers 5H,. 5| and 5|. one trigger being located in each side rail so as to permit the operation of the legs from any one of the four sides of the table. These triggers 5| 5| and 5| are preferably connected by means of a flexible cable 54, which cable also passes over the pulleys 36 previously described. lhe triggers 5W, 5| b and 5| may be mounted in any suitable or desired manner to facilitate the operation of the cable 54. A return spring 54, shown in Figure 11, may be attached to one end of the cable 54 and anchored at the other end to one of the brackets 25, as indicated at 55' in Figure '7 eg actuating links 55 are journaled to the under face of the actuating ring 38 by means of a ball-and-socket joint 56 at proper locations, and these links 55 are connected to the inner faces of the legs 22 by means of a ball-and-socket connection 51, shown in detail in Figure 9, preferably upon the leg sockets 34, as shown. These links 55 are attached to the ring 38 at a point distant from the hinge axis of the leg upon the spindle 32 so that the link will produce an hypotenuse of a right; triangle equal to the chord of the arc described by rotating the ring 38 a suflicient amount to draw the legs down flat against the body or to move the legs forwardly. The keepers 41 and 48 are so arranged as to hold the actuating ring 38 in selected positions whereby the legs may be selectively held in an extended or retracted position.

As shown in Figure 20, I have illustrated a modified form of the invention wherein the corner frame 25' is illustrated, which frame 25 carries a bell crank lever 60, the ends of the bell crank lever being engaged by means of a suitable rod or other means 6| whereby a plurality of triggers may be connected thereto in place of the type of trigger actuating means such as the cable 54 illustrated in detail in Figures 7 to 11 inclusive.

It should be understood that certain detail changes in the construction and combination of parts may be employed without departing from the spirit of the invention, so long as such changes fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed l. A device of the class described comprising a body, a plurality of legs hingedly secured to the body and adapted to be moved to and from an extended position with respect to the body,'an actuating ring rotatably mounted upon the body, guiding means engaging the ring and carried by the body, tension means anchored at one end with respect to the body and secured at its opposite end to the actuating ring for automatically rotating the ring, means connecting the legs to the ring for moving the legs to and from an extended position, latch means releasably engaging the ring for selectively holding the ring in a set position, and guiding pulleys carried by the ring for guiding the tension means around portions of the ring.

2. A device of the class described comprising a body, a plurality of legs hingedly secured to the body and adapted to be moved to and from an extended position with respect to the body, an actuating ring rotatably mounted upon the body, guiding means engaging the ring and carried by the body, tension means anchored at one end with respect to the body and secured at its opposite end to the actuating ring for automatically rotating the ring, means connecting the legs to the ring for moving the legs to and from an extended position, latch means releasably engaging the ring for selectively holding the ring in a set position, rollers carried by the edges of the ring, frames carried by the inner face of the body for receiving the rollers and constituting a journaled support for the ring, said frames being substantially U-shaped in cross section and straddling the outer edge of said actuating ring, and a roller carried by the edge of the ring and engaging the edges of said frames for facilitating the rotation of the ring,

3. A device of the class described comprising a body, a plurality of legs hingedly secured to the body and adapted to be moved to and from an exp 2,280,412 tended position with respect to the body, anactuating ring rotatably mounted upon the body, guiding means engaging the ring and carried by the body, tension means anchored at one end with respect to the body and secured atits opp site end to the actuating ring for automatically rotating the ring, means connecting the legs to the ring for moving the legs to and from an extended position, latch meanspreleasably engaging the ring for selectively holding the ring in a set position, rollers carried by the edges of the ring,

frames carried by the inner face of the body for receiving the rollers and constituting a journaled support for the ring, and bearing rollers carried by the edge of the ring and engaging the edges of said frames for facilitating the rotation of said ring.

4. A deviceof the class described comprising a body, a plurality of legs hingedly secured to the body and adapted to be moved to and froman extended position with respect to'the body,'an actuating ring rotatably mounted upon the body,

segmental guiding means carried by the body and forming segmental tracks adjacent the edge of the ring, rollers carried by the periphery. of the ring and extending into said guiding means for rotatablylsupporting the ring, other rollers carriedby the edge ofthe'ring and engagingthe edges of the guiding means to facilitate the rotation of the ring, and links connecting the legs with the ring to move the legs to and from one position to another position as the ring is rotated.

" EDWIN F. KNOWVLES. 

